


I’ve got to leave, write my own tragedies

by iamaloserkid



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, prince!stiles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-27
Updated: 2013-06-23
Packaged: 2017-12-13 03:24:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/819395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamaloserkid/pseuds/iamaloserkid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Waldemar Stilinski was the crown prince of Chazek, a small country in Europe. Ever since he was eleven he wanted one thing: to get out of there. And at eighteen he finally had the chance. He was going to California; he was going to live life as Stiles, a normal guy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I only have the prologue finished and I'm about 1/3 done with the whole story. I'll post the rest in 1 or 2 part(s), depending on how long it's going to be, I think.

Waldemar took a deep breath as he walked through the hallways to the King’s office. As he rounded the corner he noticed the guards standing in front of the door. He nodded to both and the guards bowed as they stepped aside. Waldemer knocked on the door and opened it, not even waiting for an answer.

“I told you, I don’t want anyone to bother me,” Filip said without looking up from the forms in front of him.

Waldemar closed the doors and cleared his throat, “Excuse me, your majesty, for disturbing you.”

Filip looked up and saw his son standing with a grin in the room.

“It’s fine, Waldemar,” Filip smiled and closed the documents. He motioned for his son to sit down and Waldemar did.

“So what you do need?”

“Why do you think I need something?” As Waldemar said the words he twitched in the chair, something he did when being nervous.

“You never bother me when you know I’m busy. And you’re twitching. Not from the ADHD; I recognize the difference after being your father for seventeen years,” and Filip removed his glasses to rub his eyes, getting ready for whatever is coming.

“Almost eighteen,” Waldemar said, “And hey, speaking about birthday’s,” Waldermar continued and grinned lightly, being happy with the bridge to his original subject, “I know an amazing birthday present!”

“No, I’m not going to get your favorite band to play for you,” Filip sighed. He remembered the discussion about last year’s party all too well. It ended in Waldemar threatening to give up his title and thus never _ever_ becoming king (Waldemar’s words) which made his dad cringe just thinking about. They couldn’t afford another discussion like that. One day Waldemar would mean it and then a far nephew of the family would become next in line for the throne, which meant the Stilinski family would no longer be the royal family of the country.

“Well, you know how eighteen is equal to being an adult,” Waldemar said and drummed his fingers on the table. Filip put his hand on his son’s to stop them from moving.

“So your point being?”

“I’ve been home-schooled ever since I was eleven. I’ve barely been a child. You know; making friends, playing outside, going to school dances and just generally experiencing life. I bet you want me to go to university, so… could I maybe do that? Like, do the proper college thing.”

“There is a catch, isn’t there? What’s the catch, son?” Filip rubbed his temples.

“Um… I would like to go to college in the United States. Live on campus there. I could do it under an alias. No one has to know I’m the crown prince of Chazek,” Waldermar started and wanted to add more, but got cut off by his dad.

“No,” and Filip opened his documents again, “No way.”

“But dad…”

“No, Waldemar,” Filip’s voice was hard, which Waldemar rarely heard on his dad. “Your safety is the most important thing. I can’t keep you safe when you’re on the other side of the world. You can go to college here in Chazek,” and Filip started working again on his forms. Waldemar sighed and stood up. He walked away to leave the room, but turned on a second thought.

“Please just look at it, it’s all I ask,” and Waldemar gave a brochure to his dad.

Filip looked up for a second and took the brochure with a sigh. “I can’t make any promises, Waldemar, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“I won’t, _your majesty,_ ” and with those words Waldemar left the office.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the plan for this 'one shot' is kind of changing. I think it might no longer be a true one shot, since I'm going to post it in a total of 3 or 4 parts. And I already have an idea for a sequel.  
> I don't own any of this (Teen Wolf, the uni, Chazek (well actually, I kind of do own it, since I made the country up) and anything other that might be a brand or trademarked)  
> Also, if this in any way seems like a movie you may have seen ('Prince & Me' it was, I think) than I'm sorry, or not? I don't know. Anyway, I've never seen that movie! I never intended to make it look like that movie!  
> English isn't my mother tongue, so bear with me!  
> And last, but not least, enjoy!

Waldemar sighed and sat down. Finally his birthday party was over. Now that he was eighteen, he was eligible to become king. This also meant he was eligible to marry and get a wife who could be the queen of the country. He was sick and tired of dancing with all the girls, listening to all the people say how one day he would make a good king. Thinking about it, he didn’t want to be a king. But he knew he had to, since he was the only close family in line for the thrown. He couldn’t give up; he couldn’t do that to his father, grandparents and all the family before that.

Waldemar took of his crown and looked at it. He stood up and put it in the chest, which also held his robe and scepter, and closed the lit.

“Did you enjoy your party?” Waldemar turned around and saw his dad standing in the doorway. Waldemar nodded and his father closed the door.

“I haven’t given you your present yet.” His dad approached him and sat down across from him.

“I know,” Waldemar said and laughed, “I didn’t want to say anything, because it seems so rude, but what did you get me?” He looked at his father with a big, excited smile.

His father looked at his hands and took a deep breath. He then took an envelope from the inside of his jacket. “I feel like I’m going to regret this, but here.”

Waldemar took the envelope and looked at the front of it.

**_San Francisco State University_ **

“Are you serious?” Waldemar asked quietly and opened the envelope.

**_I am pleased to inform you have been accepted to San Francisco State University._ **

“O my god.” He was speechless. His dad was letting him go to college. In California. “How… you… I just… what?”

His dad laughed softly, he knew how difficult it could be to shut his son up.

“Yes, I am letting you go. We have an alias for you; you’re now Stiles Nowak. Isaac Lahey is going with you, since he was born and partly raised in the United States and he is the person closest to your age. He’ll be your personal bodyguard and will keep an eye out for you. We’ve got rules. No dating, no partying, no skipping classes. You’re there to study, so you’re going to study. And you will tell _no one_ your true identity. Got it?”

“Yes dad,” Waldemar smiled, “Thank you so much.” He gave his dad a tight hug. He never thought he could actually get away. But his ticket out of there was in his hand. He was going to California; he was going to live life like a normal guy.

***

Stiles and Isaac walked around campus, trying to find the dorm they were staying in.

“Isn’t this awesome!” Stiles said, yet again. Isaac groaned; Stiles hadn’t shut up ever since they boarded the plane. He couldn’t blame him, really. It was the first time Stiles was leaving the country for himself and not for some royal visit. Also, it was the first time he was traveling without his father and the guards.

“Walde… um, Stiles, can you now finally shut up about how excited you are? It’s really starting to annoy me.”

“Sorry,” Stiles said with a grin, “I just still can’t believe this is all happening. I haven’t left the palace to go to school ever since I was eleven. And this is not just leaving my house, this is leaving the country! My dad doesn’t even let me go into the city to do some shopping. This is just huge for me. And dude! You’re going to college _for free_. That’s also exciting.”

“It’s not for free,” Isaac puffs, “I have to work 24/7 keeping an eye out for you _and_ I have to go to college, get good grades, make assignments. That’s a double load I have. I honestly hope I’m not going to get a burnout.”

“You won’t,” Stiles said and put his arm around Isaac’s shoulders, “I’ll help you with all your work.”

They approached the building they were going to stay in and Stiles checked the room number.

“2.04,” he read and they entered the building. They walked with their suitcases to the elevator and Stiles looked around.

“This is so awesome,” he said as he saw others move into their rooms. The elevator doors closed and they went up to the second floor. They elevator pinged and they walked out. They walked to room number four and there they saw a sign on the door.

**_Isaac Lahey & Stiles Nowak_ **

“It’s official.” Stiles grinned brightly as he opened the door and walked into the living room of the _very_ small apartment. Stiles walked in and looked around. “It’s small though, isn’t it?”

“It seems like a normal room to me,” Isaac said and walked to one of the bedrooms to drop is bags.

“Oh… oh, right. Normal. Got it. Then I’m happy with it,” Stiles grinned again and walked to the other bedroom. It was small for Stiles, but if that was what normal was, then he’d have to accept it. Because right now, Stiles was a normal guy living a normal life.

***

First class of semester started and Stiles was barely able to contain his excitement. He hardly slept at night and was completely pumped on adrenaline. Add the ADHD and the Adderall and Stiles was an energy bomb about to explode.

“I’ve never met someone who was this excited about going to Finance at 8.45 am,” Isaac muttered.

“Well, I’m sorry. It’s just that I haven’t been to a proper class in seven years, and a lot of people in Chazek aren’t even able to go to college. It’s just special for me, okay?”

“Yeah, okay, but still. Please cut the excitement a little bit,” Isaac said and dropped in one of the chairs near the back. Stiles looked around, wanting to sit a bit more at front so he could pay attention, but then sat down next to Isaac. He had to be close to him; he was his bodyguard after all.

“I’m so curious about what we’ll learn,” Stiles grinned as he opened his books. He looked through the first chapter which was the introduction. They had to read that before class stared, since they weren’t going to discuss it. He then looked at the second chapter. It’s mostly about stock markets and stock index.

“Welcome everybody,” echoed through the speakers. Stiles looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing in front of the huge blackboard.

“My name is Professor Harding, I’ll be teaching you Finance,” he started and opened his notes. “If it’s correct you have read the introduction to this course, so we can start with the stock market.”

Stiles eager took notes of everything Professor Harding said, even if part of the information sounded familiar to him. Isaac looked bored and tired and tried his hardest to follow what the professor was saying, but when he noticed Stiles writing everything down he gave up on listening.

When the class was done Stiles kept writing things down in his notebook.

“Stiles, come on, class is done. Let’s go eat something, I’m starving,” Isaac said and packed his bag.

“Just a minute,” Stiles said and finished his notes.

“Did you like class?” Isaac asked when Stile closed the notebook.

“Um, yeah, I guess. Maybe I expected more? I mean,” Stiles said and put everything in his bag, “I knew what he was talking about. I studied this already. Maybe it’s just the first class, you know…” Stiles said and stood up, almost tripping over the strap of his bag. Isaac steadied him and Stiles grinned back. “Thanks,” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome. It’s my job to keep you safe, after all,” Isaac said and they left the lecture hall.

“So… food. What do you want to eat? Or do you maybe want to go to a café and get some coffee with pie? I can do with some pie. They got so much better stuff here than in Chazek,” Stiles said and already moved towards the café, not waiting for an answer.

“Coffee and pie it is then,” muttered Isaac and followed him without another word.

They entered the café and ordered something to drink and eat. While Isaac was waiting for the drinks, Stiles started looking around for a place to sit. To his disappointed he found no empty tables. Well, he found one table, but it had no chairs because a group next to it grabbed the chairs. However, he saw two empty chairs at the group’s table.

“Excuse me,” he approached, “Are those chairs free?”

A sweet looking girl looked up, “Oh, I’m sorry. They’re for friends. They’re… oh, there they are!” she said and waved at two people entering.

“Oh, okay,” Stiles said and walked away as he saw the two people, a dark colored guy and beautiful blonde girl, approaching the table and sitting down in the two empty chairs.

“Let’s just go to our dorm, then,” Isaac said and handed Stiles his decaf coffee.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Stiles said and they left the café. He couldn’t help but look back at the group of seven. They seemed to be really good friends. The way they were talking animatedly and laughing… Stiles wished he had friends like that.

***

Two weeks passed quickly. Stiles was enjoying the classes, but that was really it. He hadn’t spoken much to others and if it was, it was about an assignment or something school related. He wanted to study in a foreign country, to truly experience life. All he had done now was experience the life of a loser. He bought some game consoles on his third day, since gaming seemed like the thing a typical 18-year old did. He enjoyed that very much, he couldn’t believe he lived without it, but that also seemed to hinder his chances of meeting people and getting out there.

“We’re going to the library and study,” Isaac said and grabbed the controller from Stiles’ hands.

“I’m already done with my homework,” Stiles said and wanted to grab the controller back.

“So you can help me with _mine_ , since you promised that,” Isaac said and turned the Xbox off.

“You are mean,” Stiles declared, but grabbed his stuff anyway. They walked in silence to the library and looked around the ground floor. There wasn’t much workspace, so they went up the stairs and they saw many, many tables. Also many tables that were filled with students and their books and laptops.

“There’s an empty table there,” Isaac said and walked towards it. He put his stuff down and got comfortable in the chair. Stiles sat down too and looked around. One of the big tables next to it was filled with people, and they all seemed to not care much about studying. Two girls were discussing clothes and four guys were discussing sports. There were two people who actually did some work, of which one girl threw in some comments about both subjects.

“Are you sure we can get some work done here?” Stiles said and looked at the books Isaac had opened.

“ _Yes,_ ” Isaac said and shoved one of the books to Stiles, “And now work.”

“ _Fine,_ ” Stiles replied in the same tone and started making the homework. He didn’t mind, really. He liked doing the work. Even though he found it fairly easy. He just liked using his brain.

“Jeez, you seriously don’t have a clue what you’re talking about!”

“Me?! Who has been captain of the lacrosse team? It wasn’t you!”

“Yeah, but you sucked at being a captain!”

“That’s because the whole team sucked. I couldn’t help it the team was filled with losers.”

Stiles looked up and saw two of the guys at the table in a heated argument.

“Guys… stop being so childish,” a low voice said and Stiles eyes shot to a guy who seemed out of place. It was also the guy who hadn’t participated in anything going on at the table. He seemed at least four years older than the other’s and he also seemed like he didn’t want to be associated with the group. Which really, didn’t seem too crazy, since they argued apparently about stupid things.

Then he felt eyes on him and the group was looking at him. That’s when he recognized people from the table. It was the same group they saw at the café. And the dark skinned guy and blonde girl were actually in some of his classes.

“Hey!” the blonde girl said and Stiles eyes shut open. He was quite scared of the girl; she seemed like she could easily kick his ass. “You’re the smart one in some of my classes, aren’t you?”

Stiles looked at Isaac and then back at the girl, “I um… I guess?”

“Yeah, you are. I remember you having a discussion with Loch about Cultural difference between Europe and America. You’re from Europe right?”

“Yes. I am from Chazek,” Stiles said. This apparently grabbed the attention of the odd guy out.

“Chazek?” he asked and raised an eyebrow.

“It’s a country bordering,” Stiles started but the guy cut him off.

“I know where Chazek is. Just surprised, that’s all,” he said and then focused on the book in front of him.

“You and your friend want to join us?” she asked and pointed to the empty chairs.

Stiles looked at Isaac who shrugged. So Stiles smiled and grabbed his stuff. It seemed like he finally was in the process of making some friends.

“So, what’s your name?”

“I am Stiles. And this is Isaac,” Stiles said and looked at everyone at the table. All eyes were on him. He even saw the eyes of the offbeat guy glancing in his direction.

“I am Erica,” the blonde girl said and then pointed to the dark colored guy besides her, “This is Boyd.” Then she pointed to the sweet looking girl on her other side, “That’s Allison with her boyfriend Scott besides her. Then you have Jackson, Danny and Lydia. And mister grumpy pants is Derek.” Stiles eyes lingered on Derek, but then got a harsh stare in return, so his eyes immediately went down to his hands. He then noticed he was actually drumming his fingers due to nerves.

“So, what are you all studying?” Stiles asked.

“Boyd and I are first year Finance students,” she said, “Allison is a second year into her Nursing education, Scott is in his second year of Veterinary Medicine, Jackson is a second year Management student, Danny is a second year Computer Science student, Lydia is in her second year of Mathematics and Chemistry and Derek is in his first year of his master degree in International Business.”

“How did you meet? I mean, you two are in your first year and he just started his master’s,” Stiles said and pointed first to Boyd and Erica and then to Derek.

“We, minus Derek, went to high school together. It’s actually a huge coincidence we’re all studying here. But Boyd and I took a year off to earn money and get married,” she smiled and showed the ring she was wearing.

“Congratulations,” Stiles smiled at them. He then sneaked a glance at Derek.

“And he started joining the other’s last year,” Erica said looking at Derek.

“You stole my table,” he muttered.

“We did not. You were _hogging_ a huge table while you sat all alone being the loser you are. So we just sat down and we gave you the chance to leave but you didn’t. So really, you chose to be friends with us,” Lydia said matter-of-factly, “And admit it, you love us. There’s a reason you’re back here for you master’s and not at any other University.”

Derek ignored what Lydia said and continued working on his assignment.

“But enough talking. Stiles, will you help me with my assignment? I’m totally lost and Derek refuses to help me,” Erica said and Stiles heard Derek mutter something about hating all of them.

“Sure,” Stiles smiled and started helping her, which earned him a light shove from Isaac.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you when I’m done with helping Erica,” Stiles told Isaac and started writing down the basics of Erica’s assignment.

***

Stiles and Isaac joined the group from Monday to Fridays in the library. Sometimes the whole group was there, sometimes just three or four of them because the others had classes. Whoever he was with, he was at ease. It felt like he finally had some friends and finally had a place he belonged. He never had friends, not real friends anyway; people who talked with him because they actually liked him. One day into the three weeks young friendship, Stiles and Isaac arrived at the library earlier than usual. One of their classes got canceled and instead of playing a video game, Isaac forced them out. So that was why they were on their way to do some hardcore studying. They walked to their table and instead of finding it empty, they saw Derek working in complete silence.

“Oh, we thought no one would be here,” Stiles said and put their stuff down, “We’ll promise to be silent.”

Without looking up Derek spoke, “You can never be silent, Stiles.”

“True,” Stiles said and laughed nervously, “But I’ll try and do my best for you.”

Derek looked up and raised an eyebrow; something Stiles had seen him do numerous of times. It was also something that made Stiles squirm. He didn’t know what it was, but Derek always made him extra nervous. He always felt like he should prove himself when he was around Derek. Maybe it was just because he was older and more experienced. _Experienced in what?_ Ah, don’t go there, Stiles! He cleared his throat and felt his cheeks get hot. He started working on the most difficult assignment he got, just to distract his thoughts. He honestly had no idea where they came from. And really, he didn’t want to know either.

***

Stiles had difficulty sleeping that night. He was confused about the thoughts he had that day. Primarily, the thoughts about Derek. Derek _wasn’t_ nice; he was a major prick. A good-looking one, though. And that’s were Stiles thoughts got stuck. He couldn’t think of a guy as good-looking right? Well, he could, but only in a totally platonic way. And the way he thought it wasn’t really platonic. Right? He was just really confused, because he had never thought about another guy like that. He had never thought about another _person_ like that. He wasn’t gay. He couldn’t be gay. He was the crown prince of Chazek; _he couldn’t be gay_.

Stiles took a deep breath and turned around in his bed again. He had been tossing and turning for four hours now. He could just as well wake up, go for a run and do some homework. Stiles eyed Isaac and saw he was still sound asleep. Stiles softly got up and grabbed sweatpants and a T-shirt from his drawers. He changed and grabbed his sneakers. He tied them up and eyed the clock. **4.25 am.** More than enough time to go for a nice run. He grabbed his iPod and left the dorm room.

After jogging for half an hour he took a deep breath and looked around. He saw on the maps there was a beach nearby. He hadn’t yet gone to it. Now looking around he saw it wasn’t all that special. Of course, it was better than all he’d ever seen in his life, but maybe he expected more. Added to that was that it was still _dark_ and would be for another two hours. He took another deep breath and decided to sit down. After running he still hadn’t cleared his mind. He really didn’t know what to do and what to think. It wasn’t okay to like Derek. He was a guy. Stiles needed to find a nice girl and marry her, so together they could become king and queen and rule Chazek. Stiles ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. Maybe he just needed to experience the true asshole Derek was. That would probably fix it all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I don't own any of the books/movies/whatever mentioned.  
> Any mistakes are mine, since English is my second language. I'm still learning!  
> And thank for the kudos and comments, makes my day!  
> Enjoy!

The next day Stiles went to the library before his 10 am class. He hoped to run into Derek, since it seemed like he spend all his time in the library.

Stiles approached the large table and saw it was occupied by one person. Derek.

“Hey,” Stiles said softly and sat down a few seats from Derek.

Derek looked up, surprise on his face. The expression didn’t stay long, though, and after a second the expression disappeared to reveal his usual scowling face.

“Don’t you have class?” Stiles asked as he looked at the book Derek was reading.

“Obviously not,” Derek answered as he kept reading.

“Right,” Stiles said and fidgeted with the string of his hoodie, “Whatcha reading?”

Derek sighed before answering, “The Kite Runner.”

“Is it fun?” Stiles asked, just to keep the conversation going.

“A boy gets raped,” Derek answered again.

“Oh… that’s not fun,” Stiles said and saw Derek was starting to get annoyed. “Look, I’m sorry. I just… I want to get to know you. I just find it a bit odd that we’ve been studying at the same table for weeks and that all I know is your name.”

Derek didn’t answer, but then sighed again and put a bookmark between the pages. “What do you want to know?”

“Well… who are you? Where are you from?” Stiles asked and rubbed the back of his neck. Derek’s intense stare was now completely focused on him. And it made him squirm. How can one person have this effect on him?

“I’m Derek Hale,” he said, “I’m 24 years old. I’m from California. That’s really it.”

“Sure there’s more about you. What do you like doing?” Stiles asked and looked hopeful.

At this Derek looked more than annoyed and grabbed his book, “I like reading. Please shut up now.”

It went better than Stiles thought it would go. And god, Stiles could never hate him. This was really not okay. He needed to hate him, because Derek clearly hated Stiles.

“All right,” Stiles said and stood up, “I get it. You don’t like me. I’ll just… I’ll go.” He hoped Derek would say anything as he grabbed his bag. But no, he kept quiet. So yes, Derek really hated Stiles. He didn’t even know why. He didn’t do anything wrong. He was friendly, he showed interest… maybe making friends was different in the United States? It’s not that he had any experience making friends. He sighed and walked to the lecture hall. Isaac was going to kill him for sneaking out. Again.

***

To understand Derek a bit more, Stiles picked up the Kite Runner and started reading it. And it made him more confused about Derek. Did he like the book? Because it’s quite fucked up. Okay, he got why Derek might like it; it was a good book and interesting. But it really didn’t give him any answers as to who Derek was. So that left him with one thing to do. Ask Derek. It’s not like he had anything to lose.

“Why did you read the Kite Runner?” Stiles asked as he sat down at the table.

Derek raised an eyebrow at him.

“I read it,” Stiles said, “And it was a good book. But why did you choose to read it? Because hello, a boy gets raped, and it’s quite depressive … so… why?”

Derek sighed and it seemed like it physically hurt him to talk to Stiles, “The movie is playing tonight in the cultural cinema downtown. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. That’s enough of an answer for you?”

“You go to cultural movies?” Stiles asked feeling intrigued. It seemed so… artsy. And Derek seemed anything but artsy.

“Yes,” Derek said and focused on the book in front of him again, showing Stiles that the conversation was over. Stiles nodded and got back to his work, but his eyes seem to travel to Derek’s face every once in a while.

He didn’t know what it was that made him want to know everything about Derek. There was just something that pulled him towards Derek. Yeah, he looked _great_ , but it was more than that. He wanted to know his story; he wanted to know his every thought. Maybe it started to become a bit of an obsession (though he would never admit that to anyone) or maybe he was just naturally curious. So when he one day in his dorm opened his laptop to google ‘Derek Hale’, it wasn’t strange at all, really.

He didn’t find much. Apparently Derek flew under the radar in real life as well as on the internet. He didn’t even find a facebook page. Come on, everyone has facebook! (Okay, Stiles didn’t have one, but that’s because it was then quite easy to figure out he and the crown prince of Chazek looked _very much_ alike). Stiles sighed and gave up. There was one thing left to do, and then he would give up. Really. If Derek didn’t want anything to do with Stiles, he would just let it go.

***

Stiles sneaked away with an excuse that he was going to play video games in a club. Since Isaac didn’t like the videogames Stiles was playing, and Stiles promised to be super safe and not do anything dumb, he got away.

Stiles arrived at the cinema 15 minutes before the movie was about to start. He was really nervous. And afraid of how Derek was going to react. He could totally screw any chance he had up by coming there. He could tell Derek told Stiles he would be there with great reluctance.

He got himself some popcorn and a drink and waited by the doors of the screening room. He looked around and saw Derek talking with another guy. _So he_ did _have friends._ He doubted to walk towards him, but his mind got made up for him when Derek looked straight at him. He could see the sigh that left Derek’s mouth and he excused himself as he walked towards Stiles.

“Stiles,” he said threatening, “What are you doing here?”

“I fancied seeing the Kite Runner. Especially after reading the book. I’m curious to see if the director followed the book or not,” Stiles said and nervously took a sip of his drink.

“I didn’t want to say anything to you about this, but I feel like I don’t have a choice,” Derek said, “Why are you stalking me?”

“Stalking?” Stiles exclaimed and coughed on his drink. “I’m so not stalking!”

“You keep going to the library, though you have no reason to go there, you read the book I’m reading, just so you can talk with me about it, and now you’re here after I mentioned I was going to be here. Stiles, why are you stalking me?” Derek said and stared harshly at Stiles.

Stiles’ shoulders slumped and mumbled, “I didn’t mean it like that.” He bit his lip and ran his hand through his hair, “I just wanted to be friends. I’ve never had friends and you just seem so interesting…”

“You’ve never had friends?” the statement made Derek’s eyebrows rise. Looking at how bubbly and positive the kid was it was hard to think he had no friends. “What about Isaac?”

“Look. I’ve been homeschool since I was eleven. My parents rarely let me leave the house. I don’t know how to act in social situations, so I’m sorry if I seemed like a psycho or something. And yeah, Isaac is kind of my friend, but he’s mostly here because my father trusts him and without him he wouldn’t let me leave,” Stiles said and bit his lip again, “But I’ll leave you alone, if that’s what you want,” and with that Stiles turned to leave.

“Wait,” he heard and then felt a warm hand on his shoulder. It made his whole body tingle. Stiles turned around and looked at Derek.

“Do you really want to see the movie?”

Stiles nodded and smiled slightly, “Yeah, I’m actually quite curious.”

“Then come and see the movie with me. Maybe we can get something to drink afterwards, yeah?”

Stiles couldn’t believe his ears! “I’d love that,” he smiled and fidgeted with the straw of his drink.

“Okay,” Derek said and Stiles noticed there was actually a small smile on his face. Maybe Derek was just as bad at making friends as Stiles was.

Neither said anything and Stiles got jittery by the silence. He never did well with silence. The doors opened and they took their seats somewhere in the back of the cinema.

“So… this is probably the fourth time ever I’m going to watch a movie in the cinema,” Stiles said as he looked around, avoiding Derek’s eyes.

“Yeah? Don’t they have cinemas in Chazek?” Derek asked.

“They have. I know we’re not the richest country, but we have cinemas,” Stiles defended.

“I was kidding. I know they have cinemas. I actually did one of my projects on the economy of Chazek,” Derek explained, “It was quite interesting. You have about 3 times more sheep than people,” Derek said, “But how come you haven’t been to a cinemas often?”

“Parents wouldn’t let me. They were strict. So I missed out on many things,” Stiles said, “It’s nice to have some freedom now.”

“Then we’ll enjoy it,” Derek said and grabbed some popcorn.

“Dude, get your own!” Stiles exclaimed, but smiled when he saw the grin on Derek’s face. Derek got comfortable in the chair and grabbed another hand of popcorn. You know, Stiles could definitely get used to this.

***

“I’m wondering something,” Derek said as he took a sip of his coke.

“What are you wondering?” Stiles asked and bit on the straw of his drink.

“If you’re parents are so strict… why would they let you go to the other side of the world?” Derek asked, “I just don’t understand.”

“I also still don’t,” Stiles said and left the straw alone. Instead he started biting on his lip, “I asked my dad, he thought about it and let me go. I did tell him that I didn’t have the chance to do things every teenager has done. Maybe he just realized how suffocated I truly felt.”

“And your mom? What did she think?”

“She um…” Stiles said and decided to pay the fullest attention again to the straw, “She died five years ago.”

“I’m sorry,” Derek said. It sounded like he truly was, “I lost both my parents eight years ago.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Stiles said. “How did you deal with it? Because… I feel like I still can’t deal.”

“I don’t know,” Derek said and sighed, “I just shut everyone out; I still do.”

“I try to please everyone. I’m an over-achiever,” Stiles said, “I just don’t want a reason for my dad to be disappointed.” It then struck Stiles they were actually having a real conversation. With a subject he never spoke with anyone about. Who knew Stiles was able to that? Who knew _Derek_ was able to do that?

“You know, one day I’d love to go to Chazek,” Derek then said when he noticed how quiet they both got.

“Really?” Stiles asked and smiled, “It’s not that special. It’s a very small country, we have like two big cities and that’s it. Plus, half of the country is still mostly farmer villages and the freedom in the country is limited.” Those are all the things Stiles hopes to change once he becomes king. More cities, modernize the country and most of all, more freedom; be who the hell you want to be. That’s always something he found important.

“What do you mean with limited freedom?” Derek asked as he raised his hand to let the waiter know they wanted new drinks. That’s when Stiles noticed they both had finished their drink, which meant they were there for at least ten minutes. And Derek actually wanted to stick around. _Score!_

“Um, you’re an outsider if you have a different skin color; if you’re a foreigner. Doesn’t matter if you’re a third generation and you were born and raised in Chazek. They just give you fewer opportunities. Males are still considered more important than females; you won’t really see a female manager. There are no rights whatsoever for homosexual people. Actually, there’s a big chance you get beaten up just for being different,” Stiles said and swallowed. Yeah, he really couldn’t be gay.

“Really?” Derek asked, “Wow… I figured because it is a European country…” Derek said and the drinks arrived. They thanked the waiter and Derek took a sip without finishing his sentence.

“Yeah, well… they’re not,” Stiles said. “I know America also isn’t the best country considering equal rights, but it’s a hell of a lot better here,” Stiles smiled.

“It definitely is better here. At least here you can love someone of the same gender,” Derek smiled, “Which I think is a great right.”

Was Derek saying he was gay? Or is he saying that he thinks it’s okay to be gay?

“Um, yeah,” Stiles said, “Great right,” he mumbled and took a sip from his coke through the straw. That’s when the conversation died. It was partly because Stiles brain just couldn’t _shut up._ All he now thought about was Derek. And Derek being gay. Which let to Derek with another guy. Which let to Derek with him. _Naked._ Wrong thoughts, Stiles. He didn’t even know if Derek was gay, so thinking that was just really stupid. Derek finished his drink and looked at his watch.

“I think it’s time to go back to my apartment. I’ve got an 8 am class tomorrow morning,” Derek said and grabbed his leather jacket.

“Right, yeah. It’s best to go,” Stiles said and zipped his hoodie up. Stiles wanted to grab his wallet to pay for the drinks, but Derek beat him too it. He paid for the drinks and together they left the bar.

“So,” Derek said as they walked back to campus, “Next week they’re showing Brideshead Revisited,” Derek started. Stiles lips started to twitch. They wanted to smile knowing what was coming, but he couldn’t smile just yet. What if he misunderstood what Derek was about to say?

“It’s this story that plays before the second World War. It’s about Charles Ryder who befriends a family at Brideshead Castle, especially the son and daughter of the family. Great story and the movie should be nice too.”

“Okay, sounds nice,” Stiles said, “Is it based on a novel?”

“Yes, it’s based on the novel Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder by Evelyn Waugh. It was published in 1945,” Derek said and looked straight ahead, “Maybe you could read the book and then we could see the movie next week?”

“That’d be cool, yeah,” Stiles answered and let the smile play on his lips. Derek actually wanted to spend time with him.

“Alright,” Derek said. A couple of quiet minutes followed and Derek stopped walking when they were close to campus.

“My apartment’s here,” he said and pointed to a small, green row house.

“Ah, okay. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess?” Stiles asked and scuffed his feet. This was his cue to go, right?

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Derek said and fished the key out of his pocket. He walked towards the door and Stiles watched him open the door. Derek then turned around and saw Stiles hadn’t moved an inch.

“I had fun tonight,” Derek said, “Thanks for being persistent.”

“Um, you’re welcome,” Stiles said. Derek nodded and entered his apartment. As the door closed Stiles grinned and felt like doing a victory dance. Derek definitely didn’t hate him.

***

A few days passed and there were barely any words exchanged between Stiles and Derek. And it made Stiles feel incredibly insecure. What if Derek realized he didn’t like Stiles after all? What it was all just a joke to him?

Stiles sat outside on a bench around lunchtime with _Bridesheid Revisted_ in his hand, while his thoughts were elsewhere. In four days he had to have finished the book, because he was going to the movies with Derek. If he still wanted to, that is. Also, if they were going, should Stiles see it as a date? Or just as two friends hanging out?

“Do you like the book?” Stiles was startled as he heard a voice. He looked up and saw Derek standing in front of him. He was wearing his leather jacket (like you ever see him without it) and was wearing sunglasses and Stiles decided that he should wear them all the time, because he was looking _good._ Then Stiles repeated the words he heard in his head and realized Derek asked a question.

“To know and love one other human being is the root of all wisdom,” Stiles said and smiled, “Yeah, I like it.”

“Good,” Derek smiled too, “And especially good you can quote the book,” Derek said and sat down next to him, “Sometimes, I feel the past and the future pressing so hard on either side that there's no room for the present at all.” Derek stared off in the distance as he let the words float around. Stiles looked mesmerized at him. There was so much more to Derek than a killer body and well-sculptured face. He was an intellect and cared about the arts.

“What?” Derek asked as he caught Stiles looking.

“Oh, um, n-nothing,” Stiles stuttered, “Well, just that… the whole literary, cultural movie thing doesn’t seem to really fit your looks.”

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” Derek said and stood up again as the smile disappeared from his face, “I’ll see you around,” and without another word or look back Derek left.

Did Stiles just offend him?

***

After the sudden escape Derek made, they hadn’t spoken. So Stiles was patiently waiting at the cinema, hoping Derek would show up. When studying, Derek wouldn’t even as much as look at Stiles. Not that that was so much different from how Derek normally acted, but still. Stiles had a feeling he did something very wrong and he wanted to make up for it. With five minutes till the movie started and no sign of Derek, Stiles sighed and rubbed his face. Apparently he really screwed things up with Derek.

“Hey.”

Stiles raised his head from his hands where he let it rest to see Derek standing in from of him. He was actually wearing a shirt. Like a proper, button-up shirt.

“Hey,” Stiles said and stood up, “I thought you weren’t going to come anymore. Look, I’m sorry for what I said. I now it sounded really superficial, and I should know that a person looks can be totally different from their personality,” Stiles rumbled, the studied apology totally forgotten.

Derek raised his hand and shook his head while silently laughing, “It’s okay, Stiles. I overreacted. I usually just get annoyed when people say things about my looks in comparison to my personality. It’s fine, really. I should learn how to deal with those comments.”

“Oh, okay. Good. You had me worrying the past few days, man,” Stiles said and smiled. “Let’s go watch this movie, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me,” Derek smiled, “An afterwards we can go to the bar again.”

Stiles smiled as they entered the screening room. Derek still wanted to hang out with him.

***

The whole group was complete, studying in the library. This was something that seemed to happen rarely, because of all the different schedules they had. Stiles was sitting next to Derek and every once in a while he would show Derek something, or Derek would mumble something to him. This didn’t go unnoticed with the rest of the group.

Lydia’s eyes went from Derek to Stiles and back to Derek. “Are you guys like friends now?” she asked and Stiles looked up. Derek had learned how to deal with Lydia, so chose not the respond. “I mean, we all know Derek doesn’t _do_ friends.”

“How can someone not _do_ friends?” Stiles asked and scratches the back of his head, “Really, Lydia, that sounds kind of impossible.”

“Well, let me put it this way,” she said, “Derek is loner who besides us is never really seen with other people.” This did grab Derek’s attention.

“I’m not a loner, Lydia,” he replied, “Just because you feel the need to befriend the whole student body, doesn’t make me a loner,” he said and turned his focus back on his homework.

“Still, you two seem really cozy together,” she said and got a nail file from her purse. “I just find it weird, that’s all.” She started filing her nails and with that she ended the conversation. She had her judgment ready and no one could convince her otherwise. Something was blooming between the two guys.


End file.
